I love peppermint bark for so many reasons. It is one of my favorite Christmas recipes because of how simple it is. In fact, my daughters made this last batch with my supervision and I must say… they did a fabulous job! In fact I think their bark looks better than Harry and David’s, Williams-Sonoma, and Neiman Marcus’ because it is homemade and made with 100% love.
Some peppermint bark recipes only use white chocolate but I prefer the combination of both brown and white. If you are looking for an easy to make Holiday treat to make as gifts or to have on hand when guests come over this is a great recipe for you – freezes well too. Happy Holidays! Enjoy!
Peppermint Bark Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
1 bag of chocolate chips (any kind you like)
1 bag of white chocolate chips
24 mini candy canes, crushed *do not crush using a food processor – place candy canes in a zip lock bag and use a hammer to crush into small pieces
DIRECTIONS:
Line the bottom of a 9×13 pan with parchment paper. Pour (brown) chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave chocolate chips in increments of 30 seconds stirring the chips each time until chocolate chips have completed melted and mixture is smooth. Spread melted chocolate as evenly as possibly into lined pan. Place pan into freezer for 20 minutes. Repeat the same melting process with the white chips. While chocolate is still smooth, stir in half of the crushed candy cane mixture. Allow the white chocolate to slightly cool for a minute. Remove pan from freezer and spread white chocolate/crushed candy canes mixture on top of the chocolate layer. Spread white chocolate as quickly as possible. Top off with remaining crushed candy cane and gently pat down with the back of a spatula. Return pan to freezer for 20 minutes. Remove from freezer and gently lift the whole mixture from the pan with a butter knife. You should now have a solid sheet of peppermint bark. Remove parchment paper and break into pieces. Store any left over bark in a ziplock bag and place in the freezer. Enjoy!
*if white chocolate chips do not melt smooth, stir in 2 tablespoons of shortening.
Great tip! Thanks!
PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE
This is a before or after dinner mint that packs a lot more than a refreshing feeling after you consume it. This is pure delight for your taste buds.
Philippine pili nuts from the Bicol region in the Philippines is a great Filipino or Philippines food or snack. Pili nuts are very healthy and nutritious indeed, being a source of energy, potassium and iron.They also have protein, dietary fiber / fibre, and calcium as well as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. I know they have no cholesterol, no trans fat, and the unsalted ones have no sodium. What is great about the pili nut snack or treat is that they are so crisp, rich, and delicious.
about how much do they make? if you use regular peppermints, how many?
Im using this this my new go to holiday candy..Why im I just tasting this ????
I was researching what causes the white and dark to separate. On another blog, I read that you should use white chocolate containing cocoa butter and NOT palm kernal oil or coconut oil. Apparently those oils will not adhere or bond to the milk chocolate or dark chocolate (whichever you’re using). I’m gonna give that a try and see if it helps!
I totally love this recipe, but it gets my nails dirty….
I am using regular peppermint sticks. Do you know how much , (in cups) that 24 mini candy canes comes to?
I am trying this!! If I don’t, I’ll be taking out a second mortgage for all the Williams-Sonoma bark I’ll be buying 🙂
I notice you posted this recipe years ago, but I just found it this week. My kids and I made the bark and it was wonderful!
To other commenters: A typical bag of Nestle’s chocolate chips is 12 oz or 340g. I think anything in the neighborhood will work fine. I might use a bit more chocolate next time to make the chocolate layer thicker.
Also, I just used the fridge (not the freezer) to cool things down, and it worked fine. I left it in a little longer. I also store the bark in the fridge.
Thanks again for the great recipe! I have sent several friends this way for the recipe.
How much is one bag? Like a 12 oz.one or a 6 oz.one? Thank you!
We’re wondering the same thing
I’m anxious to try your peppermint bark as an addition to an upcoming Christmas sweets swap! Is it possible to find out the size or weight of chips used? I have on hand, 250 gram bags, 326 gram bags, and 500 gram bags.
Thank you!
Love this recipe. Just made tonight with my 5 year old and posted to my blog. Thank you.
Hi Katie: Thanks for sharing your tips!
I too have had the layer-separation and detached-candy problems, and here’s how I’ve solved them:
To keep the layers from separating, I spread the white layer on top of the dark layer while it’s still wet. This is tricky if (like I do) you use non-chip chocolate that needs to be tempered. It would be easier with chips. I put the white chocolate (not mixed with candy) in a zipper bag, cut off a corner, and pipe it over the dark chocolate, then carefully spread it to cover.
To keep the candy stuck into the chocolate, I take the above commenter’s suggestion of a strainer one step further and strain the dust out of the crunched candy before putting it on the bark. That way none of the dust gets between the big attractive pieces and the chocolate to keep them from adhering. To keep the candy from coming off on your hands when breaking it apart, put baggies over your hands or a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the candy.
You could easily combine the two solutions by using only the dust to mix into the white chocolate, so that you can still pipe it.